Original: Do any thing but this thou doest.
Modern: Do anything except what you’re doing now.

Original: Empty OLD receptacles, or common shores, of filth;
Modern: Empty out old containers or clean public sewers full of waste;

Original: Serve by indenture to the common hangman:
Modern: Work as an indentured servant to the public executioner:

Original: Any of these ways are yet better than this;
Modern: Any of these jobs would still be better than this;

Original: For what thou professest, a baboon, could he speak,
Modern: Because what you do for work, even a baboon, if it could talk,

Original: Would own a name too dear.
Modern: Would think the title too precious to claim.

Original: O, that the gods Would safely deliver me from this place!
Modern: Oh, I wish the gods would safely rescue me from this place!

Original: Here, here’s gold for thee.
Modern: Here, here’s some gold for you.

Original: If that thy master would gain by thee,
Modern: If your boss wants to make money from me,

Original: Proclaim that I can sing, weave, sew, and dance,
Modern: Advertise that I can sing, weave, sew, and dance,

Original: With other virtues, which I’ll keep from boast:
Modern: Along with other skills, which I won’t brag about:

Original: And I will undertake all these to teach.
Modern: And I will promise to teach all of these.

Original: I doubt not but this populous city will
Modern: I have no doubt that this crowded city will

Original: Yield many scholars.
Modern: Provide many students.

In Act IV, Scene vi of “Pericles, Prince of Tyre,” the action takes place in a brothel in Mytilene where Marina, Pericles’ daughter, has been sold by the pirates who captured her. Despite being in this degrading environment, Marina maintains her virtue and purity through eloquent speeches that move her potential customers to abandon their base intentions. When Lysimachus, the governor of Mytilene, arrives at the brothel, Marina’s noble bearing and persuasive words convince him to respect her chastity and even provide her with gold as he leaves, transformed by the encounter.

The scene continues with Marina converting other visitors through her moral influence, much to the frustration of the Bawd, Boult, and the brothel keeper who find their business disrupted by her virtue. Marina’s ability to inspire repentance and noble behavior in those who seek to exploit her demonstrates her inherent goodness and strength of character. The brothel keepers, realizing that Marina’s presence is detrimental to their trade, eventually decide they must find another way to profit from her, as her virtue continues to transform rather than corrupt those around her.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre follows the wandering journey of Prince Pericles across the Mediterranean. The play opens with Pericles fleeing Antioch after discovering that King Antiochus is engaged in an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Fearing for his life, Pericles leaves his kingdom of Tyre in the care of his trusted advisor Helicanus and sets sail. He arrives in Tarsus during a famine, where he provides grain to the starving people, earning the gratitude of Governor Cleon and his wife Dionyza.

Continuing his travels, Pericles is shipwrecked near Pentapolis, where he washes ashore and participates in a tournament to win the hand of Thaisa, daughter of King Simonides. Pericles wins both the tournament and Thaisa’s love, and they marry. However, news arrives that Antiochus and his daughter have died, making it safe for Pericles to return to Tyre. During the sea voyage home, Thaisa gives birth to a daughter during a violent storm but appears to die in childbirth. The sailors insist her body must be cast overboard, so Pericles places her in a sealed coffin and commits it to the sea.

Thaisa’s coffin washes ashore in Ephesus, where the physician Cerimon revives her. Believing her husband and child are dead, she becomes a priestess in Diana’s temple. Meanwhile, Pericles leaves his infant daughter Marina with Cleon and Dionyza in Tarsus, asking them to raise her. Fourteen years pass, and Marina grows into a beautiful and virtuous young woman, causing Dionyza’s own daughter to pale in comparison. Jealous, Dionyza orders Marina’s murder, but pirates capture her before the deed is done and sell her to a brothel in Mytilene.

In the brothel, Marina’s purity and eloquence convert clients to virtue rather than vice, eventually leading to her release and employment as a teacher. When Pericles returns to Tarsus, Cleon and Dionyza show him a false tomb, claiming Marina died of natural causes. Grief-stricken, Pericles becomes a hermit aboard his ship. His vessel eventually arrives in Mytilene, where the governor Lysimachus brings Marina aboard to cure the melancholy stranger through music. Father and daughter recognize each other, leading to joyful reunion. The goddess Diana then appears to Pericles in a vision, directing him to her temple in Ephesus, where he is reunited with Thaisa. The play concludes with Marina’s betrothal to Lysimachus.